A feast for Thanksgiving

Wesley United Methodist serves dinner to its community guests

Wesley United Methodist serves dinner to its community guests

November 24, 2006|CAROL DRAEGER Tribune Staff Writer

NILES -- Fellowship Hall at Wesley United Methodist Church lives up to its name every Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Thursday was no different. About 87 people converged there at noon to consume a four-star turkey feast that would please even the fastidious food maven Martha Stewart. "Delicious, as usual," said Virginia Hendershot, of Milton Township. Hendershot has spent more than a decade sharing Thanksgiving with her mother at the Cedar Street church. Since her mother died in 1997, Hendershot travels alone. "I come to meet friends," the 73-year-old said. "They used to give us cards so we could give something back in envelopes if we wanted," she said. "I guess they don't do it anymore." Volunteers take care of just about everything, including takeout, which means some meals are wrapped up -- restaurant style -- to deliver to sick or immobile people. About two dozen church volunteers prepare, serve and cleanup after dinner is served at Fellowship Hall, said organizer Ann Sidmore. But dozens more churchgoers donate food and money to ensure the feast is bountiful, said Sidmore. This year the spread includes five turkeys. "We usually cook for 100 people," said Sidmore. The church's Thanksgiving Day feast began about two decades ago when Carol Noid and her husband couldn't travel to visit family and decided to share dinner with others who would be alone. "I think we had two people there," she said with a laugh. The crowd has grown over the decades. The last few years, it has leveled off to between 80 to 100 people. Volunteers were already looking ahead to Christmas as dishes were cleared from tables Thursday afternoon. "We'll be right back here on Christmas Day," said volunteer Nancy McCreedy, of Niles. Staff writer Carol Draeger: cdraeger@sbtinfo.com (269) 687-7005